Process for the manufacture of door-panels and the like.



l. REGENSTEIN. rnocsss ron IHE MANUFACTURE or noon mans AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23. I917- ii E 12, 1918..

1,259,286 Paten 2 SHEETS-SHEET l. REGENSTEIN. PROCESS FOR THEMANUFACTURE or DOOR PANELS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.1917- Patented 12, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOSEPH REGENSTEIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF DOOR-PANELS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed July 23, 1917.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOSEPH REGENSTEIN, a. citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for theManufacture of Door-Panels and the like, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention has to do with certain improvements in process forthe manufacture of door panel and the like which are used in theconstruction of automobile bodies and similar structures. For thepurposes of convenience in describing and illustrating I will explainthe features of the invention as applied to use in connection with themanufacture of door panels for automobile bodies, but I wish itunderstood that in so doing I do not intend to limit myself to thisparticular application of the invention. Neverthe less, as willpresently appear, the features of the invention are very well adaptedfor this particular class of service.

In the manufacture of doors for automobile bodies it is customary tofinish the inner faces of the doors by the use of the door panels which,while constituting a portion of the door and possessin the necessaryphysi-- cal strength, etc, shou d also present a neat and attractiveappearance. Ordinarily the door panel is protected more or less from theWeather but there are times when it is exposed to the action of rain andsnow. Furthermore, during the cleaning of the interior of the car bodythe dOOr panels are frequently flushed with water so that they must beso constructed as to resist not only the action of the elements but alsothe application of water in the ordinary cleaning process.

In the construction of certain makes of car 4 bodies, some materialother than leather is used, in order to bring the cost of manufacturewithin reasonable limits. Nevertheles there is a great demand for carshaving a leather interior finish. It is therefore very desirable tobuild the door panels from material other than leather, while at thesame time giving them the neat and attractive appearance possessed by aleather panel. For this purpose the use of paste board or the likebacked up with heavy canvas or Water proof cloth has come into extensivefavor. Frequently this cloth itself is embossed besides being blackenedor colored so as to give it the appearance of a, leather finish.

Difliculty has, however, been experienced in Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

Serial No. 182,298.

applying the cloth to the card board or paste board backing in such amanner as to successfully resist the. entrance of water between thecloth and the paste board. In fact a large portion of the initial costof panels of this type has been occasioned by the necessity of making athoroughly water tight connection between thecloth and the paste boardbacking. Not only this, but also it has been the experience that thevery action of applying the cloth to the paste board backing has to alarge extent injured or destroyed the embossed finish of the cloth sothat the appearance of the completed product is thereby proportionallyinjured, and the desirability of this product proportionally lowered.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method ofapplication of the cloth surfacing or finish to the paste board or cardboard backing, such that the entrance of water and the like will be verysuccessfully resisted and prevented while at the same time verymaterially lowering the cost of carrying on the process of manufacture.In this connection another object is to economize in the use of the rawmaterials, so conducting the process that the completed panels can bemade from the use of a minimum amount of raw material.

Another object of the invention is to so relate or carry forward thevarious steps of the process that the completed product will present thebest possible appearance and will most successfully present theappearance of embossed leather or the like which it is supposed torepresent and imitate. Another object of the invention is to relate thevarious steps of the process to each other in such a manner that theywill most successfully accomplish the foregoing objects, bearing in mindthe particular application of the invention and 1ts steps to use in themanufacture of door panels, for automobile bodies. Other objects anduses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of thesame, which consists in the steps of process properly correlated andcarried forward as here inafter explained.

Before proceeding to a description of the drawings, I will first explainin brief outline the various steps of the process and the manner inwhich they are conducted so that the significance of the "arious figuresof the drawings will be better understood when they are described.

In carrying forward the process of the present invention, I first take asection of the backing material and apply to one face of the same thefacing or covering of cloth or canvas. In order to economize in the costof manufacture and in the use bf materials, it is preferable to take arelatively large section of this backing material, such for example as along strip of the same and having a width approximately equal to one ofthe dimensions of the completed panels. Furthermore, this backingmaterial may be of any suitable composition, but preferably paste boardor card board, the same being relatively cheap while being thoroughlyap- 'plicable to the present use.

To one face of this strip of paste board or the like I glue or otherwiseattach a strip ofcanvas or similar cloth fabric having a sufficientlyclose surface Weave to give the desired appearance to the completedproduct. The attachment of the canvas or other cloth to the paste boardis preferably in the form of a long continuous strip of whatever widthmay be found desirable but generally 5 a width approximately equal toone of the dimensions of the completed panel. After the cloth fabric hasdried the strip of material is to be painted or coated with awaterproofing material, and also when it is desired to give the same theappearance of leather or the like it should also be embossed. Assumingthat both of these steps are to be performed, the strip should be coatedwith' a coating of water-proofing material of the desired colorgenerally black or in some cases brown. This water-proofing materialserves not only to water proof the cloth fabric, but it serves also tofill in the pores and give the desired finish.

40 After the strip thus treated has dried, it maybe embossed. Thisembossing consists in roughening or corrugating the material so that itwill present more accurately the appearance of a strip of leather. Inthe past, the embossing has generally been formed on the cloth fabricbefore the same is attached or applied to the paste board backing. As aresult of this procedure it is. generally found that the completedprodnot has lines or stripes on its face wherein the embossing has beenrolled or pressed out by the tool used in applying the cloth to thepaste board backing. Furthermore, it naturally follows that when thismethod of procedure is used, that the cloth does not adhere uniformlyand effectively to portions of the paste board backing because the cloth.yiS roughened by the embossing process, whereas,'?th'e paste boardbacking has a smooth, even surface.

In order to overcome this objection, in-

extends clear through the cloth and the backing. In this way not only isthe appearance of the product greatly improved but also its strength anddurability and permanency are markedly improved. Ordinarily thisembossing Will be done after the coating with the water-proofing orcoloring material.

After the material has been embossed the strip is cut up into blanks ofthe exact form and contour of the completed panels. It is to be observedthat by so cutting the strip into blanks a raw edge is formed around theblank so that water or the elements might find their way between thecloth and the paste board by way of this raw edge. I have therefore,made provision for protecting this raw edge against any suchpossibility. Ordinarily such protection will be by way of a line ofsewing or stitching extending clear around the blank and serving tosolidly connect the edge of the cloth to the paste board backing. Inother cases this protection may be afforded by way of a strip of clothor water-proofing material extending clear around the door panel andfolded or bent over the edge thereof and suitably attached thereto. Theattachment by way of sewing around the edge of the blank is in manycases preferable on account of the low cost of manufacture and also theimprove ment in the form of the completed panel.

The panel as thus constructed is applied to the door frame in the usualmanner, frequently by brads or tacks driven through the periphery of thepanel and into the wooden backing of the door. Thereafter sltrips may beapplied to the edge of the oor.

In order that the features of invention and steps of process may bebetter understood, I will now refer to the drawings wherein- Figure 1shows a perspective view of a sheet of backing material;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a sheet of backing material havingapplied to one of its faces a layer or sheet of cloth or fabric;

Fig. 3 shows on enlarged scale -a cross sectiontaken on the line 3--3 ofFig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows, the coating ofwater-proofing material having been applied, and the strip of backingand cloth covering having been corrugated or embossed;

Fig. 4 shows a face view corresponding to Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a view corresponding to Fi 4, the blanks of several panelsbeing ind1- cated by the dotted and full lines;

Fig. 6 shows a face view of one of the panels cut out as indicated on Fi5, but having applied to its border or periphery a line of stitching orthe like;

Fig. 7 shows a face view of the completed door having applied theretothe panel;

Fig. 8 shows on enlarged scale a fragmentary cross-section through aportion of a door having applied thereto the panel of the presentinvention;

Fig. 9 shows a fragmentary front face view of the border or periphery ofthe panel showing the line of stitching:

Fig. 10 shows a fragmentary back face view corresponding to Fig. 9;

Fig. 11, shows a fragmentary edge view corresponding to Figs. 9 and 10;

Fig. 12 shows a fragmentary face view of an edge of a panel havingapplied thereto a modified form of binder; and

Fig. 13 shows a cross section corresponding to Fig. 12.

Referring now to the several figures, I first take a section of backingmaterial such as paste board or the like and apply to one of its faces alayer of canvas or other suitable fabric. This may be the longcontinuous strip of paste board (14) shown in Fig. 1, having applied toone of its'facesla long continuous strip of canvas or'other fabric .(15)shown in Fig. 2. The canvas or cloth fabric so applied is attached tothe paste board or other backing, by paste or glue, and this applicationis preferably made when both the paste board backing and the canvas orcloth strip are flat so that a very even and uniform attachment will.besecured.

The canvas or other fabric is then treated with a coating ofwater-proofing material, preferably of a color which will give thedesired finish according to the imitation leather finish desired; Thisis the coating (16) shown in Fig. 3.- Either before or after theapplication of the water-proofing material, the backing and the cloth orcanvas covering are corrugated or embossed so as to roughen the stripand make it more perfectly resemble the leather which it is supposed toimitate. This corrugating or embossing is clearly shown in Fig. 3. It isto be observed that by performing this corrugating or embossing step onthe strip after the cloth or canvas has been applied to the backing,the. corrugating or embossing roughening will extend clear through theback as well as the cloth. Furthermore, inasmuch as the pasting orgluing o eration has already been completed when t e parts are in smoothor uncorrugated condition it follows that. a very-perfect connectionbetween them is possible. Furthermore when this process is used, thereis no danger of eradicating any of the embossing finish durmg theprocess of applying thecloth to the' paste board backin I W1th the largereet or stripfinished to the point so far explained it is to be cut .upinto blanks of the desired size and form factured. The dotted anels tobe manu- Fig. 5 indicate the position of two of the 4 blanks which areto be cut out and the full 'line 19, in said figure indicates one of thepasteboard backing as well as the cloth will have their edges exposed sothat water and the like would very easily find their way into this rawedge. I therefore provide a protection for the raw edge in the form of aline of stitching 20, extending all around the periphery of the blank asshown in Flg. 6; or a strip of binding material as shown in Figs. 12 and13, or any other suitable protection. The stitching is in many ways verydesirable for this purpose because it not only actually binds or holdsthe cloth and paste board together, but when it is of the form shown inFigs. 9, 10 and 11, 1t also actually protects the edge of the blankbecause it extends across said edge as shown in Fig. 11. Therefore thenext step in the process consists in the applicationpf a suitablebinding or protecting material to the edge or periphery of the lank.

The door panel is then ready for application to the door. The doorillustrated in Fig. 8 comprises a metal or other pan shaped receptacle(21) having around its perlphcry a block of wood or the like (22) whichservesto space the door panel (23) from ing a finishing strip (25),which comprises lded strip (26) and a cord or bead (27). In the modifiedpanel shown in Figs. 12 and 13, a binding strip (28) isfolded over theedge of the panel, and is held in place by a line of stitching 29.

While I have herein shown and described only certain embodiments of thefeatures of my invention, and a certain sequence of steps of process,still it .will be understood that I do not limit myself to the same,except as I may do so in the claims.

I claim: r 1. The process for the 'manufacture of door panels or thelike which consists in first applying to a relatively large smooth sheetof backing material comprising paste board or the like, a sheet of clothfabric of desired texture, by painting sai dpasting or gluing,thereafter,

fabric with a water-proofing its and coloring material, thereafterembossing the sheet thus prepared by means of corrugations extendlngclear through the backing material and the fabric, thereafter cuttingthe said sheet so prepared into blanks of the desired size and shape,and thereafter forming a border of stitching around the periphery of theblank so cut, said stitching extending clear through the material of thebacking and the fabric for the firmly joining to ether the fabrlc andthe backing around the periphery of the blank to protect the sameagainst the entrance of water, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2. The process for the manufacture of door panels and the like whichconsists in first gluing or pasting a sheet of textile fabric of desiredweave to the face of a smooth sheet of backing material of paste board,or the like, thereafter embossing the sheet so prepared by means ofcorrugations extending clear through the backing material and thetextile fabric, thereafter cutting the sheet so prepared into blanks ofdeslred size and shape and thereafter prov tecting the edges of saidblanks against the urpose of forth.

4. The process for the manufacture of water-proof door panels and thelike havmg the appearance-of leather, which consists in first applyin toa relatively large smooth sheet of paste card or the like a sheet ofcloth fabric or the like of desired texture by pasting or gluing,thereafter painting said fabric with water-proofing and coloringmaterial to give the same the appearance of leather finish and toprotect the same against water, thereafter embossing the sheet thusprepared by means of corrugations extending clear through the backingmaterial and the fabric, thereafter cutting the said sheet so preparedinto blanks of the desired size and sh'a e, and thereafter forming aborder of stitc ing around the periphery of the blanks so cut, saidstitching extending clear through and also over the edge of the back- Img and fabric for the purpose of firmly joining together these parts toprotect the same against the entrance of water, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

JOSEPH REGENSTEIN.

